UPDATE: Wichita officer critical, but stable in hospital after Saturday night shooting

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - UPDATE- In a Sunday afternoon briefing, the Wichita Police Department provided further information on an officer-involved shooting that left a WPD officer critically injured and a suspected gunman dead hear Carlyle and Gold streets in southwest Wichita.

Police said the injured officer is a five-year veteran of the department. Earlier Sunday, Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple and WPD Chief Gordon Ramsay said the officer was stable, but still in critical condition at a local hospital.

“WPD sends its thoughts and prayers to the officer, his family, and others affected by this tragic incident,” the department said in Sunday’s briefing.

If you’d like to donate to help the injured WPD officer, The Honore Adversis Foundation will accept donations on behalf of the officer at www.honorduringadversity.org.

Police identified the man killed in the shooting as 28-year-old Tyler Hodge.

At about 10:15 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to a welfare check in the 500 block of West Carlyle to check on a woman at a home.

“Officers received information that the (woman) may be in danger, was yelling for help, and that her 13-year-old daughter was scared,” the WPD said.

Upon arrival, police said two officers contacted the woman and her daughter at the home. The woman reported a physical disturbance with her boyfriend, Hodge. The woman told officers she believed Hodge had left. Police said Hodge’s vehicle was at the home, so the officers began checking the home and property.

“While doing this, the two officers found Hodge seated in a detached shed in the backyard, armed with a rifle,” police said.

Hodge ran toward the officers and fired multiple shots. The officers took cover and alerted other officers over the radio about shots being fired, police said. More officers began arriving to assist.

“Hodge was in the backyard of his home and began shooting at officers arriving on Carlyle and approaching the home, striking one WPD officer multiple times,” police said. “The injured officer fired multiple times in return, and officers with him pulled him to safety. Officers began life-saving measures and placed him into a police vehicle to rush him to an area hospital.”

Police said Hodge then began shooting from the home’s backyard toward officers arriving on Gold Street.

“A WPD sergeant took cover behind a patrol vehicle when the vehicle was shot multiple times. Officers began utilizing suppressive fire to stop (Hodge) from firing at them so that the WPD sergeant could move to a safe location, and began providing life-saving measures,” police said. “Other officers continued to check the property to make sure there was no more danger to the community.”

Police said Hodge died at the scene. The WPD said Hodge fired 18 times toward officers, striking one patrol vehicle, three homes and an officer.

“Multiple officers fired multiple shots during the incident,” police said. “During the investigation, a loaded handgun was found in the detached shed, and detectives learned that Hodge had suffered from mental health crises before and had previously made statements of wanting to be killed by police.”

The WPD said two officers, with the department for four and five years respectively, have been placed on administrative leave, “which is standard protocol in officer-involved shootings.” The investigation is ongoing and the case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office, police said.

UPDATE-- Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple says the officer injured in a shooting Saturday night is in critical, but stable condition. Mayor Whipple says he talked with Wichita Police Chief, Gordon Ramsay Sunday.

Wichita Police also say if you’d like to donate, The Honore Adversis Foundation will accept donations on behalf of the Wichita Police Department officer seriously injured in the line of duty last night.

Please visit www.honorduringadversity.org and utilize the yellow in color “donate” button on the front page.

The Wichita Police Department will have a press conference at 2 P.M.

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A Wichita Police officer is hospitalized in critical condition after being shot multiple times in S. Wichita late Saturday. It happened in the 500 block of W. Carlyle shortly after 10:00 p.m.

Wichita police tell us officers were called to check the welfare of someone at a home in that area. Two officers arrived at the scene and someone in the home started firing shots at them. One of the officers was struck multiple times and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay Tweeted Sunday morning that the officer remains in critical condition at the hospital.

Police say more officers showed up and more shots were fired. The suspect in the home was killed in the incident. Police say there were no other suspects involved in the case.

Investigators interviewed several eyewitnesses, including two women who were in the home at the time.

No one else was hurt.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation was called in to assist in the case. It is standard procedure for an outside organization to investigate cases like this.

Police are expected to release more information during a press briefing Sunday afternoon. Watch for updates as we get them here on www.kwch.com and on Eyewitness News later today.

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